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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-06-24-Special MinutesWAUKEE CITY COUNCIL MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING June 24,2013 A.Call to Order -The special meeting of the Waukee City Council was called to order by Mayor Peard at 5:31 p.m.at the Waukee Community Center,355 7th St. B.Roll Call-The following members were present:Mayor William F.Peard;Council Members Shane Blanchard,Casey L.Harvey,Shelly Hughes,C.Isaiah McGee,Mike Watts.Absent:None. Also in attendance:City Administrator Tim Moerman,Director of Finance Linda Burkhart,Director of Public Works John Gibson,Parks and Recreation Director Matt Jermier,Director of Development Services Brad Deets,City Planner Ben Landhauser,City Clerk Rebecca D.Schuett. C.Agenda Approval -Council Member Harvey moved to approve the agenda;seconded by Council Member Blanchard.Results of vote:Ayes:Blanchard,Harvey,Hughes,McGee,Watts.Nays: None.Motion carried 5 -O. D.Action Items: 1)Resolution:Consideration of approval ofa resolution approving Reimbursement Agreement by and between the City of Waukee,Iowa,and MidAmerican Energy Company [Alice's Road/University Avenue Intersection,Utility Relocation]-Council Member Hughes moved to approve the resolution;seconded by Council Member Harvey. Director of Public Works Gibson reviewed the agreement as it relates to the relocation of an existing electrical utility pole.Council Member Harvey asked if the relocate would be done live or if there would be outages;Mr.Gibson replied that the power would be rerouted and in the evenings.Council Member Watts asked if it would be less expensive to realign the intersection; Mr.Gibson replied in the negative,noting costs associated with the Union Pacific Railroad crossing.He added that the City would need to pay for any utility relocation along Alice's Road north of University Avenue.Results of vote:Ayes:Blanchard,Harvey,Hughes,McGee,Watts. Nays:None.Motion carried 5 -O.(Resolution #13-163) At this time,City Planner Landhauser briefly presented on the current status of the City website and plans to migrate the site to a more secure third party administrator.In the short term,the third party administrator (Blue Compass)will need to make all updates to the website,as City staff will not have administration rights.City Administrator Moerman added that staff would present a strategy and options for Council consideration on how best to move forward with selecting a long-term administrator.Council Member McGee asked if the City would be charged by Blue Compass to update webpages;Mr. Moerman replied in the affirmative.Council Member Watts questioned why City staff could not manage the website in-house;Mr.Moerman and Councii Member Harvey explained the City did not have the proper software or a staff member with proper training.Council Member Hughes asked if any personal or financial information was compromised by the recent hacking of the website;Director of Finance Burkhart replied in the negative. E.Work Session: 1)Alice's Road Corridor Project,University Ave.to Hickman Rd.-Patrick Kueter with Foth Infrastructure &Environment,LLC,noted that prior traffic studies indicate that the roadway segment in question may need to be planned as a 6-lane roadway instead of 4 lanes.He also discussed potential right-of-way acquisition and utility relocation issues associated with the project,as well as the projected cost to add the additional lanes.The Council spoke in favor of the 6-lane concept. 2)Community Center transition plan -Director of Development Services Deets reviewed the timeline for completion of construction of the project,including the punchlist for the building, landscaping and irrigation.Council Member Hughes asked if an AED would be installed;Mr. Deets replied that staff would research grant opportunities for an AED,Parks and Recreation Director Jermier discussed a possible rentai policy and rate structure for the facility,which wiii be presented for formal consideration by the Council at the Juiy 15 regular meeting.Mayor Peard asked when the faciiity would be available for rentals;Mr.Jermier stated that August 1 was the projected date for rentals to begin.Mr.Jermier also discussed the possible hiring of a site supervisor to handle pre-rental set-up and post-rental facility review. 3)Procedure for appointments to citizen boards and committees -City Administrator Moerman reviewed possibie procedure revisions to the appointment process,including realigning appointments so that all terms run for the calendar year and eliminating the interview process used by certain boards.Council Member McGee expressed concern that appointments had the potential to be politicaiiy motivated,especiaiiy during election years; Mayor Peard replied that he did not see such issues,as appointments require approval by the majority of the council.Council Member Harvey spoke in favor of the proposed changes as a way to avoid potentiaiiy strained relationships with seated board members if their recommended candidates are not appointed;Mayor Peard agreed with Council Member Harvey.Council Member McGee suggested altering appointments to begin February 1"to allow new council members time to consider the appointments.After a brief discussion,the Mayor and Council agreed to make appointments at the second meeting in January,with terms beginning February 1".Mr.Moerman reviewed the next steps in the process,including communication of the new procedure with the citizen boards and ordinance revisions. 4)Role of council liaisons to citizen boards and committees -City Administrator Moerman recommended that representatives of the various boards and committees report to the Council at regular meetings instead of assigning council members to attend those board meetings and report to the rest of the Council.Council Member Blanchard spoke in favor of maintaining a council liaison to the Parks Board,Library Board of Trustees,and Planning and Zoning Commission.Council Member McGee replied that council members could continue attending board meetings without any formal appointment as a liaison.Mr.Moerman also suggested regular joint meetings between the boards and City Council. 5)Policy for reimbursement -City Administrator Moerman reviewed the existing policy.Council Member Harvey voiced the opinion that there should be no meal reimbursement for meetings among council members that take place in the metro area.Mayor Peard noted two recent meetings he had where he paid for a council member's meal due to special circumstances. The Council agreed that the current policy required no amendment as it already addresses meetings among elected officials. 6)Iowa League of Cities 2013 Annual Conference and Exhibit -City Administrator Moerman presented information on the upcoming conference;Mayor Peard and Council Member McGee wiii attend. F.Comments Adjournment -Council Member McGee moved to adjourn;seconded by Council Member Hughes. Ayo"~1.N""None.Mol;"carried 5 -O.~Il _ Meeting Adjourned at 7:07 p.m./-,J1~~If~"~~L---L~""---==---_ ~.Peard,Mayor Attest: Rebecca D.Schuett,City Clerk 2